Metallic partition



June 26, 1934" P. F. BENDER El AL 1,964,422

METALLIC PARTITION I Filed Aug. 30, 1929 e Sheets-She et 1 sglvENiTORtsv W3 Ma i ATTORNEYS June 26, 1934. BENDER'Er AL 1,964,422

METALLIC PARTITION Filed Aug. 30, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 *Mu/e ATTORNEYS June 26, 1934- P. F. BENDER ET AL 1,964,422

METALLIC PARTITION Filed Aug. 30, 1929 e Sheets-Sheet s gpaa -rMu ATTORNEYLS' .June 26, 1934. P. F. BENDER ET AL METALLIC PARTITION 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 30, 1929 IIIIIIIIII nail-Insult: 51:11

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Patented June 26, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v METALLIC PARTITION Application August 30, 1929, Serial No. 389,335

Claims. 7 (Cl. 189-34) This invention relates to metallic partitions for buildings, and it has for one of its primary objects the provision of improved partition structure adapted to be made up for stock in unit parts or sections of standard sizes, which may be readily assembled in one combination and taken down, altered and re-assembled in another combination.

13 make the sections interchangeable, so that, for exarnpe, a door with its jamb may be readily substituted for a panel of similar size, or the arrangement of wide and narrow panels may be changed.

Another object of our invention resides in the simplification of post arrangements for partitions, and to this end we have provided panel assemblies or sections having uprights at each side which, in effect, constitute half posts and with which we have associated interlocking and steadying means adapted to interlock the two half posts of adjacent sections to form one structural post.

Another object of our invention is the provision of very simple and effective means for fastening the partition to the floor.

Further objects reside in the simplicity with which the partitions may be erected and in the simplicity with which irregularities in the floor may be taken care of.

Still another object resides in providing covering for the posts supported in a novel manner. A further object resides in the provision of sections for partitions of the character described in which glass may be readily inserted in assembled sections.

A still further object resides in a novel transom arrangement.

Another object resides in the provision of a novel four-way post.

Other objects reside in structural details which,

together with the advantages to be derived therefrom, will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description.

How the foregoing, together with such other objects and advantages as may hereinafter appear, or are incident to our invention, are realized, is illustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a portion of a partition constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged broken-out elevational view of one complete section of the partition and of a portion of the adjacent right and left hand With the above object in view we propose to sections with certain post covering and cornice structure removed.

Fig. 3 is a still further enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation illustrating in detail the construction at the lower portion of the posts and the manner of fastening the partition to the floor, the section being taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a plan section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view similar to the sectional elevation shown in Fig.3, but illustrating the construction at a point intermediate of the top and bottom of the partition.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. A

Fig. 7 is an enlarged plan section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged broken-out section taken on the line-8-8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a broken-out section similar to Fig. 8 but illustrating a partition having three panels in height.

Fig. 10 is a broken-out face view of the transom portion of a partition.

Figs. 11, 12 and 13 are enlarged cross sections so taken on the lines 11-11, 12-12 and 13-13, respectively, of Fig. 10.

Fig. 14 is a cross section taken on the line 14-14 of Fig. 10.

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of a corner of the transom.

Fig. 16 is a plan-section illustrating a four-way post.

Fig. 1'7 is a broken-out cross section through an oflice' rail constructed in accordance with the invention; and

Fig. 18 is a plan section taken on the line 18-18 ofFig. 1'7.

In Fig. 1 the portion of a partition illustrated is built up of narrow sections 11, 11, wider sections 12, 12 and a door section 13, the door section in this instance being of the same width as the sections 12. We propose to make up these unit panels or sections in various sizes for stock, say, for example, in widths from 20 to 60 inches in multiples of 5 inches. The sections, as will hereinafter fully appear, are interchangeable and, therefore, any combination of narrow, wide and door sections may be made and an assembled partition may be readily taken down, altered and re-assembled to suit requirements.

Referring now to Figs. 2 to 8 inclusive it will be seen that each section, except the door sections, is composed of end uprights 14, a bottom cross member or base rail 15, an intermediate cross 19. In this instance the lower panels of the sections are made up of two metal sheets 20, 20 with corrugated board 21, or other filling material therebetween for deadening the sound and the upper panels may be of glass.

The uprights 14'are of channel form in the webs 22 of which are formed grooves 23 for receiving the solid and glass panels. At intervals along the uprights and in the webs thereof projections 24 are struck up for positioning the bot tom, chair and top rails, which projections extend at an angle to guide the rails into position as is clearly indicated in Figs. 3, 4 and 8.

The bottom, top, and chair rails are also provided with longitudinally extending grooves for receiving the panels, but it is to be noted that the top rail 17 is provided with a. removable glazing strip 25 permitting the insertion of the glass after the section is assembled as would be necessary in replacing a broken glass. The strip 25 may be frictionally held in place between the wall 26 of the top rail and the side 27 of the groove in the cornice 28 (see Fig. 8). Assuming that the glazing strip of a section is removed a glass may be inserted by placing it in the groove of one upright, then moving it half-way into the groove of the other upright, and then droppingit down into the groove of the chair rail, after which the glazing strip is put in place. The innertongue 29 of the glazing strip fitsover the tongue 30 of the top rail 17 and the upper portion of the face of the strip wedges between the top rail and the side of the groove in the cornice. The glass may then be properly positioned by filling the grooves with putty. A glazing strip of this novel construction not only has the advantage of being easily inserted and secured in place, but also presents a very pleasing appearance, for no crack or joint between the top rail and glazing strip is exposed to view.

The solid panels 18, however, are inserted in the upright and cross grooves as the sections are assembled, and after the various parts are positioned the section assemblies are held together by means of cross bolts 31 extending from one end upright to the other. These bolts are located within the hollow cross members and have hooked engagement 32 at one end with one upright and are provided with nuts 33 at their other ends engaging the other upright.

Reverting to the top rail 17 it is to be noted that a reinforcing channel member 17a extends thru the rail and is secured thereto in any suitable manner as by means of spot welding. The channel member 17a projects beyond the ends of the top rail as indicated at 17b so that it may rest on the uprights 14. This prevents the top rail from being forced downward and keeps the members lined up, and the support thus afforded is particularly advantageous during transit and when applying the cornice.

In erecting a partition a floor member or chan nel 34 is slipped over the bottom rail 15 of each section just before positioning the section, which member is preferably a floating member and serves to take up any irregularities in the floor. A plurality of base members 35, one for each post, are secured to the floor and then a pair of unit panels or sections are positioned and fastened together at their adjacent edges. Shim plates 35a may be inserted under the base members 35 to take care of irregularities in the floor and to level the sections.

As a fastening means for securing the sections together, we employ a plurality of link plates or clips 36 having projections adapted to engage slots in the adjacent uprights of the adjacent sections.

As best shown in Figs. 3 to 6 the channeled uprights areprovided with tapered slots 3'7 in their' flanges 38 and the clips 36 are provided with projections 39 disposed at an angle corresponding to the angle of taper of the slots 37, which projections enter the slots and engage the tapered edges with a wedging action. It is pointed out that the projections, in addition to being inclined shaped uprights the flanges thereof are not ofv uniform size throughout the length of the upright, i. e., these flanges are narrower at some points than at others, and, therefore, we propose to provide finished surfaces 41 at the edges of the flanges in the region where the link plates or clips 36 engage the uprights to ensure that the posts, which, as hereinbefore mentioned, are each composed of a pair of uprights and the connecting clips, will be of uniform width throughout their extent. All of the finished surfaces are located from the outside faces 42 of the uprights and all of these surfaces are located the same distance from the outside faces. The projections 40 on the clips 36 are accurately located so that the distance I) from-the left hand projections to the right hand projections is the same on all clips. It will be seen, therefore, that since all of the dimensions a and all of the. dimensions I; (see Fig. 3) are the same, the overall distance from the web of the right hand upright to the web of the left hand upright will be uniform throughout and consequently posts of uniform width throughout their extent are provided.

Thus, the units or sections of the partition may be kept to accurate dimension, thereby eliminating chances of creepage, so to speak, in long runs of the partition and insuring the meeting of return runs.

The slots 37 may be located either from the finished surfaces 41 or from the faces 42, but in or-' der to insure absolute accuracy we prefer to locate the slots 37 and the surfaces 41 in both parts of the post in one operation, and to locate them from the surfaces 42.

The projections 40 are preferably located above and below the projections 39 so that three point engagement with the uprights is afforded which gives a very decided steadying action and results in the provision of a very firm post construction. Thus the clips 36 not only constitute means for interlocking two half posts to form one structural post but also constitute means for steadying the post.

Through the employment of the clips or link plates just described we have provided a construction whereby the adjacent uprights of adjacent sections cooperate with the clips to form posts between sections, the construction being such that the clips may be readily put in place and removed, thus making it possible to alter the arrangement of the sections in a very simple manner to suit any particular conditions.

Referring now to the construction of theclips, we prefer to form them of sheet metal stampings having their top and bottom edges reinforced, for example, by curling the edges as indicated at 43 and also having their side edges similarly curled as indicated at 44. Thus a very rigid clip is provided which will resist tendencies toward buckling. I

The curling 44 at the side edges of the clips serves an additional function in that post covers 45 may be snapped over the curled up edges of the set of link plates and so held in place, which covers give the posts a finished and pleasing appearance as they hide the latticed appearance of the parts.

Reverting now to the manner of fastening the partition to the fioor, it will be seen that the base members 35 are secured to the floor as by means of bolts 46 and that cars 47 are provided on these members to which the posts are secured thru the medium of the bottom clips 36 which are provided with elongated openings for the reception of screws 48 which screw into the ears 47.

Members similar to the base members 35 may be employed for securing the cornice 28 to the posts through the medium of the top clips. A wood reinforcing strip 49 is preferably placed in the cornice. The cornice is not only an ornamental member, but also serves as a structural stiffening member.

In order to give the partition a finished appearance along the floor line, we employ adjustable plinths 50 at the bottom of the posts which plinths are preferably of the same height as the floating floor channel 34 so as to give a straight line appearance. i

The door sections 13 are composed of end uprights and a top cross member, the end uprights being of similar construction to the end uprights of the panelled sections. providing grooves in these sections for'receiving the panels they are provided with tongues 51 acting as door jambs. These sections may be reinforced by means of channel irons 52.

While the particular partition thus far described is of two panels in height, it is to be understood that more panels may be added as desired.

In Fig. 9, we have illustrated a partition composed of three panels in height, i. e., a lower panel a, an intermediate panel b and an upper panel 0. The base, chair and top rails 15, 16 and 17, respectively, are similar to those of the first form described. An intermediaterail d is employed between the intermediate and top panels b and c and is provided with a'removable glazing strip or cover e. The rail (1' has relatively shallow tongues ,f and g at the side to which the glazing strip e is secured to enable ready insertion of the panels or glass after the manner described above in connection with the upper glass panels 19. In this instance, however, the glazing strip is held in place as by means of screws h.

Referring now to Figs. 10 to 15, inclusive, we have illustrated a transom arrangement including channel members 60 adapted to be secured in any suitable manner in the grooves of uprights 14, intermediate rails d, and top rail 17 to constitute a frame fixed in the partition for the transom 61. Screws 62, known as Parker Kalon screws, may be employed as the securing means for the members 60.

The transom 61 is pivoted in the fixed frame by means of pins 63 fitting openings in the reinforcing plates 64 secured to the frame members Instead of 60. The end channel member 65 of the transom is detachably secured to the top and bottom channel members 66 by means of corner angles 67 having threaded openings to receive screws 68. The other end member 69 of the transom may be rigidly secured to the top and bottom members. Thus, it will be seen that the transom glass 70 may be inserted from the open end after which the detachable end member 65 may be secured in place to complete the transom.

The transom is put in place in the fixed frame of the partition before the glass is inserted and this may be accomplished by bowing the top and bottom members of the transom inwardly a sufficient amount to permit the pivot pins 63 to enter the pivot holes in the fixed frame.

Stop angle members 71 and 72 are secured to the top, bottom and end members of the fixed frame for limiting the closing movement of the transom.

Transoms may be located at any suitable point or points in the partition, for example, over doors or in the case of a three panel high partition they may be located in any section to take the place of certain top panels 0.

In Figure 16 we have illustrated a four-way post construction, i. e., a post which may be employed where two partitions intersect. This post is formed of the four adjacent uprights 14 of the partition sections making the intersection and.

the four uprights are secured together by means of angle irons 73, thus providing a single fourway post. p

In Figures 17 and 18 we have illustrated an office rail constructed in accordance with our inventionand composed of a plurality of sections having end uprights 53, cross members 54 and 55, and panels 56, all of the constructions being very similarto the corresponding parts of the partition herein fully described, as will be clear from the drawings. Base members 57 are desirably-arranged as a footing or support and these may have laterally-extending wings or flanges flattened underneath so as to set on the floor and project along the floor outside the plane of the partition and an upstanding tongue 57 (Fig. 18). The base members are employed for fastening the rail to the floor, to which basemembers the sections are secured through the medium of bolts 57a thru the bottom clips 58 which secure the adjacent uprights of adjacent sections together, the clips being of the same construction as those above described.

Referring to Figs. 17 and 18 more in detail, it will be seen that the end uprights 53 have grooves 53a for the retainment of the panels 56 and that the cross members 54 and 55 are horizontally positioned by means of the projections 24a which are struck up from the webs of the uprights. The cross members 54 and 55 are provided with longitudinally extending grooves 54a and 55a respectively for receiving the panels. The panels 56 are inserted in the upright grooves 53a and in the cross grooves 54a and 55a as the sections are assembled, and after the various parts are positioned the section assemblies are heldtogether by means of cross bolts 31a extending from one end upright to the other. These bolts are located within the hollow cross members and may have hooked engagement with one end upright and may be provided with nuts at their other ends engaging the other end upright, which arrangement may be the same as that described in connection with the rod construction shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The adjacent uprights of adjacent sections are fastened together by means of clips 58, which clips, and the cooperating portions of the end uprights, may be of similar construction to that shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The oflice rail thus described may be secured to the base members 57 by means of bolts 57a. A top finishing member 55b extending from one end upright to the other is provided and this member may be frictionally held in place by means of flanges 55c engaging the side faces of the cross member 55. A post cap 55d is also provided.

We claim:

\ 1. In partition construction, the combination of a plurality of sections, each section having two channel-shaped uprights with tapered slots in the flanges thereof; and clip means for removably securing the sections together in aligned spaced relation, said clip means having projections positioned at angles to cooperate with the slots in providing a wedge action to firmly secure the sections together.

2. In partition construction, the combination of a plurality of sections, each section having channeled end uprights; and clip means engaging the uprights of adjacent sections for detach ably securing said sections together in aligned spaced relation; said uprights having tapered slots in their flanges and havingfinished sur- -faces at their edges, and said clip means having inclined projections engaging the tapered slots and other projections engaging the finished surfaces.

3. In partition construction, the combination of a plurality of sections, each section having channeled end uprights, cross members, panels and tie rods for holding said parts in assembled relation, said channeled uprights having grooves in their Webbed portions for receiving the panels and having tapered slots in their flanges and finished surfaces at the edges of the flanges in the region of the slots, said surfaces being located from the web portions of the uprights; and clip means for detachably securing said sections together in aligned spaced relation, said clip means having sets of projections cooperating with said slots and finished surfaces to grip the uprights at the flanges.

4. In combination, a pair of uprights and clips for connecting the uprights in spaced relation to form a post, said uprights having slots and said clips having projections cooperating with the slots to form an interlock between the clips and the uprights, and additional projection means on the clips to engage finished surfaces on both uprights for determining a uniform distance between the webs of the uprights.

5. In partition construction, the combination of a plurality of sections each comprising end uprights, cross members and panels, said uprights and cross members having longitudinally extending grooves for receiving the panels, and angular projections on the uprights for posi'- tioning the cross members, said uprights being provided with slots adjacent their upper and lower ends and with other slots located at spaced intervals between the upper and lower ends; clip means having projections cooperating with said slots to secure the adjacent uprights of adjacent sections together and thereby form posts be tween the sections; foot members adapted to be secured to the floor; and means for securing the posts to said foot members through the medium of the clip members adjacent the lower ends of the posts.

PHILIP F. BENDER. CHARLES C. WAITE. 

